Kudos to project manager for rapid response

I would like to commend and thank Los Altos Transportation Project Manager Cedric Novenario. In response to my email regarding the need for crossing lights on Berry Avenue at Loyola School, he took the time to come out and observe for most of an hour the dangerous situation for children at that location.

He explained the process to get these lights or, at the very least, a crossing guard. He followed up with an email on how to proceed, then a phone call the following week checking on progress.

While it is too late for this school year, my hope is that next year it will be addressed by the people who can make this happen.

Kudos to you, Mr. Novenario.

Marty Loughran

Los Altos

Flood-retention plan deserves better research

There is a battle going on over the Permanente Creek project, which includes McKelvey Field and Rancho San Antonio County Park.

At the May 14 Mountain View City Council meeting, councilmembers cast their votes in favor of the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s moving forward on the flood-retention basin project at McKelvey and Rancho San Antonio parks, even though the final design has not yet been drawn up. The dollar amount needed for this project has changed like the wind.

The other two sites (Blach Intermediate School and Cuesta Annex) considered, which the water district initially said were crucial to the entire project, have been dropped due to residents’ outrage.

Most importantly, the data being used to support this unnecessary project are based on Saratoga Creek, in addition to technically incorrect information.

At the May 14 meeting, three councilmembers stated pertinent information on why the project should not move forward, but then all but one voted for it to move forward! Even when an amendment regarding the final design approval (a reasonable compromise) was discussed, the water district back-stepped and stated that the project would not move forward if the city council included such an amendment.

Why are the water district and the Mountain View City Council pushing so hard for this project without proper and adequate data/research or with the availability of final (not conceptual) designs? What sound business agrees and commits to plans it has not seen? Do successful, trustworthy businesses ignore ever-changing dollar amounts for their projects with no accountability? Why are they ignoring the real facts about the water overflow statistics of Rancho San Antonio and Permanente Creek? And, why are they basing their decisions on stats from another creek altogether?

Denise Pinto

Mountain View

Put roundabout idea into ‘lunatic basket’

My wife and I recently spent two weeks conducting an estate sale at a home we have in Brighton, Colo.

I had an opportunity to ask lots of folks what they thought about their single roundabout in that small town.

Not one person liked it – not one! They have had it for approximately 10 years, yet people have problems figuring out who has the right-of-way, etc. Large trucks pulling trailers have a real problem getting through the intersection.

I went through the roundabout and ended up going in the wrong direction (trying to head for Denver).

I put the Los Altos idea to install a roundabout at Edith Avenue and San Antonio Road into the same lunatic basket as the recent proposal to create a bus-only lane on El Camino Real through Los Altos, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.

Our poor little town needs a rest from the developers and the city councilmembers who are ruining our village.

Bob Jones

Los Altos

Submit a Letter to the Editor

The Town Crier welcomes letters to the editor on current events pertinent to Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Write to us at 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, Attn: Editor, or email editor Bruce Barton at bruceb@latc.com. Because editorial space is limited, please confine letters to no more than 200 words. Include a phone number for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be printed.

You can also have your say right here at losaltosonline.com – scroll to the bottom of any story to add a comment.